1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the construction of concrete floors or other concrete bodies and more specifically an apparatus for forming voids in concrete and the method of using the apparatus. The apparatus includes baseplates secured to a wood supporting deck or form for a concrete floor by a plurality of removable screws in a location determined by the plans of the concrete floor which usually requires the formation of various voids, cavities, openings or holes in the floor and a removable sleeve attached to each baseplate and having a height generally equal to the thickness of the floor with the upper end of the sleeve being accessible and observable when concrete is poured. In using the apparatus, the baseplates are affixed to the wood deck in accordance with the plans for the floor after the wood deck has been placed in position to receive poured concrete After the baseplates have been secured in place, various subsequent work procedures may be carried out without the workers encountering obstructions that would exist if upwardly projecting cavity forming members were attached to the wood deck. Such work procedures include the positioning of reinforcing bars, cables and the like which have a tendency to dislodge and damage any upward projections on the wood deck. After all work procedures have been performed on the wood deck, including positioning of rebars, a sleeve is attached to each baseplate immediately prior to pouring concrete thereby eliminating the problem of upwardly projecting cavity forming members on the wood deck being displaced or damaged during work procedures prior to pouring concrete. After the concrete has been poured and set, the sleeves are detached from the baseplates and removed. The wood deck can then be stripped from the bottom of the concrete floor with the baseplates still attached thereto. The baseplates are then removed from the wood deck panels and the baseplates and sleeves are capable of reuse. In other situations, the baseplates can be detached from the wood deck before the wood deck is stripped by using a long screwdriver to remove the screws after which the baseplate can be lifted out of the cavity. If a "flying form" is used, the baseplates can remain attached to the deck.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
In present day building structures, it is necessary to form voids or openings in concrete floors when the floors are poured. The openings in concrete floors are necessary to receive cables, wiring, plumbing and the like which is installed in the building after all of the concrete floors have been formed. Various efforts have been made to form the voids or openings including the provision of sleeve structures and the like that are attached to the wood deck onto which the concrete floor is to be poured with these sleeve members projecting upwardly from the wood deck thereby forming obstructions to workers who are performing various work procedures on the wood deck including workers that are positioning rebars. It frequently occurs that the upwardly projecting sleeves are damaged or displaced during various work procedures and the upwardly projecting sleeves also form obstructions over which workers can trip and fall with resultant injury. The following disclose various structures endeavoring to provide voids or openings in a concrete floor:
U.S. Pat. No. Re 31,598 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 762,194 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,391,988 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,746,696 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,249,824 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,694,847
While such prior art devices are related to the formation of voids or cavities in a concrete deck, none of them utilize the specific structure and method of this invention since none of those patents disclose baseplates secured to a wood deck prior to placement of rebars thereon with the sleeves being attached to the baseplates just prior to pouring concrete with the sleeves being removed from the upper surface of the set concrete after which the wood deck is separated from the concrete floor and the baseplates removed from the deck after the deck has been removed from the bottom surface of the set concrete thereby enabling reuse of the baseplates and sleeves. Tapering of sleeves provides a cavity that is larger at the top than at the bottom thereby making it easier to fill the cavity with fireproof materials to the required levels.